Imradel
Demonym: Imradhen The Wood Elf kingdom of Imradel is in the wood of the same name. The Citadel of Imradel is Esym Alora. The forest of Imradel has many, many Imra Trees, the oldest and tallest trees on the continent. The Imradhen dwell above the floor of the forest in the tops and around the trunks of these trees. The King and Queen of Imradel are Eldar Orimys and Elmira Belren. They have reigned peacefully for years. Eldar is the son of the former King, Ohem Orimys under which the people were united at the establishment of Imradel as a kingdom. Elmira leads the Kingdom in research and understanding of the Magic of Nature and Healing. The Imradhen are very in touch with nature and the world around them and many are driven thereby toward the study and practice of nature and healing magic. "We are one with the Imra" is a common sentiment and is part of the prayers of the Imradhen theologians, or "Curas", primarily worshiping Celese, under the wilderness domain. History: Imradel is an ancient kingdom, in fact, it is the most ancient kingdom in all of Merethyl. The "Elves of the Wood," as they were called - led by Ohem Orimys - began to inhabit the forest of Imradel after the Great Draconic War, before the time of the banishment of the Drow and the division of the Elves. Not all wood elves left the Highlands when Imradel was settled. After the High Elves left and settled Silverwood, the wood elves that remained split, some journeying to Imradel, some remaining in their towns of origin in the Highlands, becoming part of the Ciyobet Empire, the Kingdom of Gorthok, or remaining autonomous. Imradel was the most dense area of wood elves until the establishment of the Kingdom of Elaeth after the Beluir War. After the arrival of humans to Merethyl in the 1st Century, there began to be relationships between them and elves. Half-elves were seen by the High Elves of the upper Highlands and the Imradhen as inferior races. Many of the wood elves that remained in the Highlands were split over the treatment and status of these half-elves, half-humans. While the High-Elves in Silverwood still hold prejudices against other elves and the Half-Elves, the Imradhen began to accept them gradually. Presently there are many cities that are more accepting than others. The Blooming of the Imra: the blooming of Imra flowers starts in the deepest parts of the forest and works outward toward the edges of Imradel. They bloom on the first new moon of summer and into the following day. There are pleasant warm winds, called zephyrs, that blow through the forest in the days preceding the blooming. They then resume a normal floral cycle of blooming during the day and closing at night. To celebrate this event, the Imradhen have a festival on the day before the blooming begins emphasized by the telling the story of the creation by the Demigods and the Elves. On the night of the blooming it’s a very peaceful celebration. Revelers stay up most of the night conversing with friends and family until the first buds begin. Cheers and dancing and music fill the air and last until sometimes well after dawn.